Spacewalkers
ISS Commander Peggy Whitson, a veteran spacewalker, has helped Rex Walheim (left) and Stanley Love suit up for the mission's first spacewalk, which will be the 102nd spacewalk to construct the International Space Station.
"Get comfy in there," said Whitson, who has earned a reputation for competence aboard the space station by starting and completing tasks ahead of schedule.
The astronauts are in the airlock and depressurizing begun.
Walheim, on his third spacewalk, and Love, on his first, will begin their 6.5-hour spacewalk at 9:35 a.m. EST. They will prepare the Columbus module to be grappled by the space station robot arm and moved to the starboard side of the space station.
Before Columbus is installed, Walheim will check the mating surfaces on the module and the space station's harmony module. He will carry special tape to remove any debris to prevent leaks.
"We may have observed a small piece of debris," said ISS flight director Ron Spencer.
Motorized bolts will connect the module to the space station.
The spacewalk was delayed 24 hours and Love replaced German astronaut Hans Schlegel, who briefly became ill. Schlegel will assist the spacewalkers from inside the space station, while Leland Melvin operates the space station robot arm.
Love and Walheim also will prepare a nitrogen tank for installation on Wednesday and perform several get-ahead tasks during any remaining time.
Click for STS-122 fact sheet.
Click here for the flight day 5 execute package.
Click here for the NASA-TV schedule, which details mission events.
The Columbus laboratory module weights 27,000 pounds and is about the size of a small bus. Scientists will produce results from experiments within two weeks. The module was built by the European Space Agency.
Columbus will be operated from a control room in Germany. French astronaut Leopold Eyharts will open the module and remain on the space station to operate it. Eyharts flew up on Atlantis and will replace U.S. flight engineer Dan Tani.
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